How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself
where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
Psalm 84:1-7 NRSVue
We attended Advent 1 worship this morning and there was something of an outdoor, Creation-focussed theme to the service. On our way there we stopped for a walk in a cemetery by the Bay of Quinte, a body of water which was referred to during the time for children.
I've been thinking about how these four weeks of Advent might be an "inside out" experience in a time when we're inclined to huddle inside for warmth. How do we anticipate the coming of the Christ who was born in a stable and did most of his best work as an adult in the natural world?
It occurred to me that our home is filled with art, much of it as expressions of Creation, and that I could share some of the images with you in this "earthy" Groundling blog as we move through Advent. It's difficult to take photos of pieces on the walls but I trust you'll get the drift even if my attempts are imperfect.
The first is by Margot Metcalf, an award-winning photographer we got to know while living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has said "I love the moment of taking a photograph; it is a moment of presence, of breath, of peace." This photo called Sparrows on the Altar (2000) and I hope you can make them out, including on the cross. For me this evokes Psalm 84 in which the psalmist proclaims that even the birds celebrate the holiness of the temple of Jerusalem.
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